2000
#4,754
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,820
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.53
Rare Last name
Brannan
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Braonáin," meaning "descendant of Braonán" (a personal name meaning "sorrow").
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,586 Americans carry the last name Brannan. That puts it at #5,120 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,182 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Brannan surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Brannan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
7.6K
1 in 45,182
Census rank
#5,120
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,615 bearers of the surname Brannan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5120th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Brannan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Brannan
The surname Brannan has its origins in Ireland, derived from the Irish Gaelic word "bran," meaning "raven." It was initially a descriptive nickname for individuals with dark hair or complexion, resembling the color of a raven.
This surname first emerged in County Down, located in the northeastern part of Ireland. It is believed to have been adopted as a hereditary surname during the 11th or 12th century, a period when many Irish clans began adopting surnames based on personal characteristics, occupations, or geographical locations.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Brannan can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the 17th century. The annals mention a notable individual named Gilla na Naemh O'Brannan, who served as the Bishop of Ardfert in County Kerry in the late 12th century.
In the 14th century, the Brannan surname appeared in the Ragman Rolls, a collection of documented acts of homage rendered to King Edward I of England by Scottish nobles and landowners. This suggests that members of the Brannan family had established themselves in Scotland during this period.
Notable individuals bearing the Brannan surname throughout history include:
1. James Brannan (1805-1888), an Irish-born American businessman and entrepreneur who co-founded the town of San Pedro, California.
2. John Milton Brannan (1819-1892), an American lawyer, politician, and Union Army officer during the American Civil War.
3. William Penn Brannan (1825-1891), an American politician who served as the 16th Governor of Idaho Territory.
4. Jeremiah Brannan (1833-1898), an Irish-born American Catholic priest and educator who established several schools in San Francisco.
5. Samuel Brannan (1819-1889), an American religious leader, entrepreneur, and one of the earliest pioneers to settle in the Sacramento Valley region of California.
The Brannan surname has also been associated with various place names in Ireland, such as Brannanstown, a townland in County Westmeath, and Brannanmore, a village in County Armagh. These place names likely originated from individuals bearing the Brannan surname who resided in or owned land in those areas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Brannan
Among Census respondents with the surname Brannan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Brannan bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Brannan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.9% · 5,883
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 282
- Two or more races3.7% · 242
- Black or African American1.8% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 37
Timeline
Historical Census data for Brannan
Brannan appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,452
+632 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 2.53
Rank movement Up 1 places
2020
#5,120
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,615
-837 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 2.21
Rank movement Down 367 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,754 | 6,820 | 2.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,753 | 7,452 | 2.53 | +632 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 1 places |
| 2020 | #5,120 | 6,615 | 2.21 | -837 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 367 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Brannan surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,753 | #5,120 | -7.7% |
| Count | 7,452 | 6,615 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.53 | 2.21 | -12.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Brannan bearers went from 7,452 to 6,615 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 367 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,753 to #5,120.
FAQ
Brannan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Brannan?
Name Census estimates that about 7,586 living Americans carry the surname Brannan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,182 residents.
How common is Brannan?
Brannan ranks #5,120 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,615 people with the surname Brannan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,586), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Brannan.
Has Brannan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Brannan went from 7,452 recorded bearers to 6,615. That is a decrease of 837 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,753 to #5,120.
What does the Census say about the background of Brannan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Brannan, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Brannan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (5,883 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Brannan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.9%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Brannan (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Brannan mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Braonáin," meaning "descendant of Braonán" (a personal name meaning "sorrow"). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Brannan (2.21 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Brannan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.